Life As She Knew It
by darbear
Summary: Minerva/Lily mother/daughter relationship. Lily has some life changing news for her mother. How will she react?


A/N: I've had this idea floating around in my head for a while. Let me know if you want me to continue it :) This is probably my favorite relationship- Lily/Minerva in a mother/daughter dynamic.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. It all belongs to the lovely JK Rowling, but if she wants someone to take it off her hands, I'd be more than willing :)

What a horrible day. First period she had the Marauders, and then a third year Gryffindor/ Slytherin class. Could her day get any worse? A knock sounded on her office door. Apparently it could. "Come in" Minerva called lightly. Oh Thank God! It was Lily. She had barely had time to spend privately with her daughter since the beginning of term two weeks ago. Sure, she had her in class, but it wasn't the same as being able to just talk. "Lily! Darling I'm so glad it's you. I've barely had the time to see- what's wrong?" Minerva ended her thought in a hurry after seeing her daughter's tear-stained face. Lily took a deep breath and turned to facer her mother. "I need you to just listen. Please don't talk or yell until I'm done." Instantly all sorts of scenarios ran through Minerva's head. She was harming herself. She had an eating disorder. She had accidentally let the secret of her parentage slip. "Mum, I'm pregnant." Lily said quietly. Anything but that. Merlin's beard. She was 51! Much to young to be a grandmother. Her daughter was 16! The next time Minerva spoke it was in a slow whisper. "How-how long have you known?" "Since the beginning of August. I'm 10 weeks along now." Minerva didn't know whether to smile, sob, or scream. The next sound that came out of her mouth was a mixture of all of those. "Lily Marie McGonagall, I am beyond disappointed in you. I thought you were smarter than that. I thought I raised you better than that." Minerva stared at her daughter. How could she make such a big mistake? "Mummy, I'm so sorry. It happened by accident. We were just caught up in the moment. I never wanted this to happen, and neither did he. It was all just a huge mistake. Please forgive me. Please." Lily said the last words quietly. She looked up just in time to see her mother standing over her, arms outstretched. Lily ran into her arms, and let herself be guided over to the couch. She laid her head in her mother's lap and let her mind wander. She fell asleep soon after that. When Lily awoke, she knew there was a huge conversation in store for her. She started to think about the night it all happened.

**FLASHBACK-JULY 19, 1976**

"So, Lily. How would you like to come to the campfire with me?" Nick was a counselor at the summer camp Lily worked at. He was such a wonderful man, always kind, very funny, and Lily liked him a lot. They'd gone out a few times when they both had the night off, and last time they'd gone out, they'd even kissed! Lily quickly agreed, and they made plans to meet up at the beach and then walk together down to the campfire. The whole day all she could think about was the upcoming night. She spent the day writing letters home, and doing arts and crafts with the little kids. Finally, it was time for her to go and see Nick. When they met up, it was like something out of the cheap drugstore romance novels she pinched from her mother's bedside drawer. One thing led to another, and all of a sudden Lily was overcome with the realization of what she'd just done. She grabbed her clothes off of the beach and ran back to her cabin. She spent the rest of the night crying and wishing she could turn back time. The next morning she went down to the mess hall a little earlier than usual, and saw Nick kissing some other girl. Lily was heart broken. She'd given this boy everything only to be tossed aside for the next day's special. She left her job as a counselor early, telling her mother that the OWLS had taken a lot out of her and she needed some time to recuperate. She left Nick and didn't hear anything from him until the end of the summer. Lily got a letter from camp. Nick had died. He was in a car accident and broke his neck. He didn't live through the night. Lily found out she was pregnant on August 2. She had missed her period, and was throwing up all the time. She told her mother she had the summer flu. Luckily, she found a potion that helped with the sickness. After she started taking the potion, her other symptoms were easily masked. She wore big sweaters that weren't unusual for the Scottish Highland climate she lived in. Her mother was none the wiser.

**BACK IN MINERVA'S QUARTERS**

"Lily, are you awake?" Minerva asked quietly. "Yeah Mum. I am" Lily responded. "Listen, I'm sorry for going off on you earlier, but you need to understand what a surprise that was for me." Minerva was still slightly in shock. "Lil, we need to talk about this." Minerva began gently. "I know it might be hard for you, but I want to know all the facts before we tell your father." Seeing the stricken look on her daughter's face Minerva bit back a smile. "What? Did you think that he wouldn't hear the rumors? That I wouldn't tell him?" Really. What did her daughter take her for? "Where do you want me to start?" Lily asked her mother. "At the beginning." Minerva replied. "His name was Nick and we met at camp. Some stuff happened and he broke my heart. I left a few days after that. I didn't hear anything until the end of July. He was in a muggle car accident and broke his neck. He didn't live through the night. I found out two days later that I was pregnant." Lily said all that in a monotone, and wouldn't look her mother in the eye when she said it. "Remember when I told you I had the summer flu? It was morning sickness. I found a potion recipe and that helped with the throwing up. After that, I just wore dad's old sweaters and switched to sweats instead of jeans. It wasn't that difficult. I'm sorry for disappointing you mum, but I'm keeping this baby." Lily said the last sentence with a sense of finality, as if she was daring her mother to challenge her. "Lily, I had no idea. I'm sorry that you didn't feel you could come to me, and I'm sorry I didn't know." After Minerva said that, both of those strong emerald-eyed Gryffindor lioness' huddled together and cried for what they had lost. For one it was her daughter's innocence and childhood. For the other it was he first love, and life as she knew it.


End file.
